Anyone willing to help out with a MLB.TV expiriment?

[SirFozzie]

One of the sad things about the MLB.TV program offered by Major League Baseball is the blackout if your home address within 50 or 75 miles of the game.. like for example, I can't watch BoSox games.

Which sucks when you're at work ;)

Is anyone here NOT in the Boston area willing to grab a MLB.TV account, which I will reimburse for, and give me the username and password? As long as I can watch my Boston games here at work, etcetera.. I don't care if the other person watches their games as well (maybe we can set up a swap with another person affected by their local blackout.)

Let me know ;)

[Philliesfan980]

One of the sad things about the MLB.TV program offered by Major League Baseball is the blackout if your home address within 50 or 75 miles of the game.. like for example, I can't watch BoSox games.

Which sucks when you're at work ;)

Is anyone here NOT in the Boston area willing to grab a MLB.TV account, which I will reimburse for, and give me the username and password? As long as I can watch my Boston games here at work, etcetera.. I don't care if the other person watches their games as well (maybe we can set up a swap with another person affected by their local blackout.)

Let me know ;)


Thats really not a bad idea at all. However, I think that it also "looks up" your IP and from there it maps out where you are in the country (Computer people, does this make any sense?). All in all an idea which might be worth looking into. Currently I have Comcast cable (major ripoff) for the sole reason of getting comcast sports net so I can watch the Phillies. I'd love to go with DirecTV and get the NFL package, but I can't justify having both comcast and satalite. So if your theory is right, this would be great!

[SirFozzie]

From their FAQ

10. Will the game I want to see be blacked out?

There are two types of MLB.TV blackouts: local blackout and national blackout. For the local blackout, check at the bottom of the MLB.TV page to see if your zip code falls on either team's blackout list. If your zip code is not on the list, you will not be blacked out. For the national blackout, look for a grey icon Blackout next to the 350K link. Live games marked with grey icon Blackout will be blacked out in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All the blackout information is located at the bottom of the MLB.TV page. Click here for more information: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/video/mlb_tv.jsp#blackout

11. I'm getting a Blackout message, but I don't think I should be blackedout from the game I want to see.

If you believe you are receiving the Blackout message in error, please call our Customer Support toll-free at 1-866-800-1275 for further assistance.

[Philliesfan980]

From their FAQ

10. Will the game I want to see be blacked out?

There are two types of MLB.TV blackouts: local blackout and national blackout. For the local blackout, check at the bottom of the MLB.TV page to see if your zip code falls on either team's blackout list. If your zip code is not on the list, you will not be blacked out. For the national blackout, look for a grey icon Blackout next to the 350K link. Live games marked with grey icon Blackout will be blacked out in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All the blackout information is located at the bottom of the MLB.TV page. Click here for more information: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/video/mlb_tv.jsp#blackout

11. I'm getting a Blackout message, but I don't think I should be blackedout from the game I want to see.

If you believe you are receiving the Blackout message in error, please call our Customer Support toll-free at 1-866-800-1275 for further assistance.


Ok, so it determines it by zipcode, but is there anyway your IP can directly relay to MLB.com what zipcode your in?

Also, I know you can get a trial day for $2.95. I might invest in it to see whats up.

[SirFozzie]

Not without the ISP's permission (and THAT takes a subopena ;))

If you do it, let me know.. PM me the username/password, and I'll try to grab the Boston game. If it works, then we know we're good.

[Philliesfan980]

Not without the ISP's permission (and THAT takes a subopena ;))

If you do it, let me know.. PM me the username/password, and I'll try to grab the Boston game. If it works, then we know we're good.


Sounds good. I gotta run in about 5 minutes, but lets set this up for Thursday's games (next time they play). I'll anty up the $2.95 to give this a shot. If this works, this will be great. I wonder why the other leagues don't jump on to this streaming video stuff.

[sooner333]

It really won't work. My addy is in Norman, OK because that's my credit card information, etc. However, when I was at school in Chicago, the Cubs and White Sox games were blacked out anyway.

However, for some reason, Rangers games don't get blacked out here, even though we're in their so-called blackout area...but we're farther than 50-100 miles away, so maybe the real blackout area is less than what they list.

[Ryan S]

I have never been blacked out of MLB.tv. :)

If I ever get the page prompting me to enter my credit card details to check my location, I usually log out then back in a few times (usually at the MLB Audio page) and that gets me past the screen and into the video.

[SirFozzie]

Bah. Was worth a shot :)